Liverpool's Academy Focus Under Andoni Iraola
Liverpool’s new era under Andoni Iraola is already on the clock.
Six days. That’s all the Spaniard and sporting director Richard Hughes have to reshape a squad still carrying the scars of a grim 2025-26 campaign and a stuttering start to this one.
Iraola arrived as Liverpool’s first-choice successor to Arne Slot, hired to jolt Anfield back to life with his high-octane, aggressive style. Many assumed his “heavy metal” football would instantly snap the team into shape. The 2-2 draw with Newcastle on Sunday told a different story. The energy was there in flashes, but so were the gaps. This squad still needs work.
The market, though, waits for no one. With less than a week left in the window, Liverpool are in “now or never” territory on several potential deals. One or two smart additions remain possible if the club move decisively. And while the focus naturally falls on first-team signings, one intriguing development has come from a more familiar source: the academy.
Gambian talent spotted at Kirkby
An African prospect has already walked through the doors of Liverpool’s training base.
Gambian midfielder Musa Jatta Bajaha, formerly of BST Galaxy and now on the books at Swedish side Oster, is on trial with the club. He effectively confirmed his presence by posting a photo on Instagram from inside the Liverpool training complex, standing beside Dominik Szoboszlai’s locker.
Liverpool are using the trial to assess whether the teenager has the quality to be brought into the club’s youth setup and, ultimately, into the long-term plans at Anfield and L4.
For a club that prides itself on developing its own, this is familiar territory.
Academy identity under scrutiny
Liverpool’s academy has long been one of the pillars of the club’s identity. Generations of talent have come through Kirkby and into the first team, with Steven Gerrard the iconic example of what the pathway can produce.
Right now, Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha are seen as the standout prospects in the youth ranks, both expected to have meaningful roles under Iraola this season. They are not just names on a squad list; they are part of the solution to a squad that looks thin in key areas.
But the landscape has changed. Rival Premier League academies are investing heavily, stockpiling talent and tightening competition for the next wave of stars. Liverpool cannot stand still. They have responded by moving aggressively for young prospects such as Nyoni, Ngumoha, Ifeanyi Ndukwe and Samuel Martinez, building a core that can eventually filter into the first team.
Bajaha’s trial fits that strategy. It is a low-cost, potentially high-upside move at a time when Liverpool cannot simply spend their way out of every problem.
From Slot’s reluctance to Iraola’s reset
Under Slot, the pathway felt clogged. The Dutchman was reluctant to promote youngsters into his starting XI, and the club increasingly turned to the market to plug gaps rather than trusting their own pipeline. For a side without an “endless money pit” and with a squad already stretched, that approach quickly hit its limits.
Selling to buy is hardly an option when there are few expendable pieces and even fewer like-for-like replacements. That reality makes academy recruitment and development not just a tradition, but a necessity.
If Liverpool get this right, Nyoni, Ngumoha, Ndukwe, Martinez and potentially Bajaha will not just be names on a trial list or a youth team sheet. They will be the players who step in when veterans move on, keeping the squad fresh without ripping up the wage bill.
And right now, one area screams for reinforcement more than any other: midfield.
Iraola’s system demands legs, intelligence and bravery in the middle of the pitch. The Reds are light there, and every option counts. If Bajaha impresses enough to earn a place, his arrival would be another small but significant piece in a wider rebuild.
Six days to fix the present. A trialist in the building to help shape the future. Liverpool’s next moves will say plenty about which matters more.
